A facile scalable conductive graphene-coated Calotropis gigantea yarn

Abstract

Graphene-functionalized fibers have attracted substantial attention due to their potential applications in flexible wearable electronics. However, these conventional conductive materials face difficulties in mass production, which limits their large-scale fabrication. In this paper, we report a graphene-coated Calotropis gigantea yarn by pad dyeing with graphene oxide and a reduction process, which endows it with high conductivity, outstanding conducting stability, and scale production capacity. By optimizing the dyeing parameters, the modified yarns display a high electrical conductivity of 6.9 S/m. Range analysis results indicate that the electrical conductivity of the graphene-coated yarns exhibits a strong dependence on the concentration of graphene oxide and pad dyeing cycles. The hydrogen bonding between the fiber and graphene during the dyeing process renders the functionalized yarns stable conductivity to washing and bending. Based on the simple fabrication process and fascinating performance, the graphene-coated yarn show great potential in facile scale production of conductive yarns.